Kelly Ash

I love growing scented geraniums (Pelargonium spp.). They were a a staple in my mother’s garden and I am continuing in that heavenly scented tradition! And what’s great about this herb is that they are as at home in a garden bed as they are sitting on my windowsill. I wish I could grow them as perennials here in Maine, but unfortunately my zone 4 is far from the zone 8 minimum these plants need.

Their small 5-petal flowers are different that most geraniums, but it is their colorful, scented leaves, not their flowers, that these geraniums are grown. There are 5 groups of scents to choose from: Rose, Fruit, Spice, Mint, Pine, and Pungent.

I grow many of my own scented geraniums in clay pots, and they do very well. They like light, well-drained soil (most general potting soils will do well). I will usually add some perlite if it doesn’t come in the mix to some extra air around the roots.

And I have found that my scented geraniums grow best when I place them in a spot that gets about half a day of direct sun, and half a day of indirect sun. They really go wild for this kind of light!

I usually feed my potted geraniums twice a month with a general-purpose water-solulable fertilizer (20-20-20) and it keeps them happy! I water in the morning and wait until the soil surface dries out a little between watering – otherwise they get too soggy and are not happy at all.

When I find them getting too big for their pots, I know it is time to transplant to a larger pot. That is usually when I take cuttings to make more baby scented geraniums. They make great gifts!

So I grow a few of these in pots on my windowsill. I particularly love the spicy ‘nutmeg’ and rose ‘snowflake’ scents. Especially after a summer rain, but I will have to wait a few more weeks until they can be grown outside.

Geraniums, or as those more proper than me know them, pelargoniums, are one of my favorite flowers to grow. They are easy to propagate (I like to propagate them from cuttings) and grow, while being almost immune to disease and pests.

Each summer I find that I cannot say goodbye to my geraniums, so I pot them up and bring  ’em on inside. The only trouble I find is making sure they get enough light.  My mom used to say it was ‘chasing the light’ and would move her plants to different windows throughout the day so her geraniums would keep on blooming.

Also remember to move your geraniums away from the window at night to avoid them getting too chilly and possibly damaged.

I’ve learned that as long as the geraniums have enough room in the pot to stretch their feet – oops – I mean roots they will flourish in a container provided you give them some nice, well-drained potting soil.

Geraniums like a good long, cool drink, but be sure to avoid getting the leaves wet. I let mine dry out a bit in between watering. And while I don’t use any fertilizers, many of my friends find that fertilizing every other month with a water-soluable houseplant fertilizer increases their blooms.

And as long as I regularly dead-head, these plants will flower all summer, fall and winter long!

There’s a reason that geraniums are considered an old-fashioned garden favorite, and I have a long-standing secret love affair with these flowers:

They are beautiful.

They are easy to grow.

And … what more could you ask for in a plant?!